Review of Kapitan Moshkin icebreaker

MS Kapitan Moshkin ("ледокол Капитан Мошкин") is an icebreaking vessel owned and operated by Rosmorport. “Rosmorport” is a Russian FSUE (“Federal State Unitary Enterprise”) created in 2012 by the order of the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Transport.

One of the Russian river icebreaker ships, Kapitan Moshkin is the last of the "Evdokmov"-class ships. The ship was named after Captain Vasily Mikhailovich Moshkin (1881-1965), winner of the Stalin Prize for outstanding inventions and fundamental improvements in the methods of production work (awarded 1950).

In February 2012, the 140-meter freighter ship Captain Ivan Vikulov (DWT 5989) caught fire following an explosion while in the ice in Azov Sea. The fire spread quickly to other parts of the vessel. A distress call was sent to the Ukraine authorities in Crimea. A helicopter was dispatched to evacuate 10 of the 14 crew onboard. The icebreaker Moshkin arrived on the scene and established a towline to the freighter. The remaining 4 crew were transferred to the icebreaker as fire engulfed the the entire freighter. Moshkin extinguished the blaze and Captain Ivan Vikulov was placed at anchor off Strilkove, Ukraine. No injuries were reported.

Note: In case of poor AIS coverage, tracking the vessel's current location will be impossible. You can see the CruiseMapper's list of all icebreakers and ice-breaking research ships in the "itinerary" section of our Icebreakers hub. All states and their fleets are listed there.